On the company’s Facebook page, they call it a “Tasty chocolate treat that brings on the ultimate state of relaxation.”

“The magic of Lazy Cakes™, the original relaxation brownie, is in its proprietary blend that includes herbal relaxation aids melatonin, Valerian Root Extract, Rose Hips Extract, and Passion Flower,” the company says.

That’s the problem, according to Fall River Mayor William Flanagan.

“These brownies are laced with melatonin,” he said at a news conference Thursday. “Melatonin is a sleep aid.”

“If someone wants to buy melatonin, that’s fine, but it shouldn’t be in a brownie that’s packaged to attract kids,” he added.

There’s about eight milligrams of melatonin in each of the so-called brownies. Even a single serving size, which is half the brownie, far exceeds the recommended dose.

“In Europe, the common prescription as a sleep aid for adults is .03 milligrams,” said Dr. John Benanti, the head of Emergency Services at South Shore Hospital. “So this would be a lot, even for adults.”

The makers of Lazy Cakes issued this statement:

“We have not been contacted by the Mayor’s office in regard to their specific questions about our product but we welcome a conversation with Mr. Flanagan. We created Lazy Cakes to provide adults with a great-tasting way to combat the stress associated with our fast-paced lives. Ingredients include items that anyone can purchase at any health food or vitamin store, such as melatonin, Valerian Root Extract, Rose Hips Extract, and Passion Flower. Each Brownie is clearly labeled to indicate that we recommend that Lazy Cakes be enjoyed by adults only. We encourage parents to check the label before providing this or any product to their children.” -Terry Harris, CEO of HBB, LLC, makers of Lazy Cakes.

Flanagan said that’s not enough to keep the brownies on store shelves in his city.

“Even though the product says it’s not intended for children’s use, its psychedelic packaging and its cartoon character, known as Lazy Larry, indicate otherwise,” he said.

Flanagan asked the City Council to pass an ordinance to ban it from stores.

New Bedford City Councilor Bruce Duarte, Jr. has filed a motion to set an ordinance in his city to ban or regulate the sale of Lazy Cakes.

Duartesaid he only found out about them on Thursday and started doing some research online.

“One of the articles I had read was how a two-year-old had gotten a hold of one of these brownies, ate it and had to be hospitalized. That was certainly concerning to me,” he told WBZ NewsRadio 1030 Friday.

“These products, in my opinion, are geared toward children.”

“If these are not suitable for children, in my opinion they should be where the cigarettes are.”

Even though the package indicates the cakes are not for kids, Duarte said that’s not enough to stop them from being sold.

“I don’t know that the person who may be 16, 17, or 18 years old at the register is checking ID’s when they’re selling these products.”

Hey RaceFanaz….did you know that South Boston had the highest attrition rate per capita in the ENTIRE UNITED STATES during the VIET NAM WAR?…another A hole from Cambridge that doesnt know what they are talking about

What about the 28 vaccines babies have to get? They don’t say anything about that with autism going up 6000 percent.Well the one facet of society that hasn’t had a 6000 percent increase in Autism is the Amish because they don’t pump their kids with pharma cartel vaccines….but yeah! Brownies ooooo scary.

Pazzamie
Do your research. Immmunizations are not related to autism – MANY studies have shown this. The guy who released the one study that showed a correlation lost his medical license. Get your facts straight.

“The guy who released the one study that showed a correlation lost his medical license”

You mean the guy that said that they could be related, and that vaccine autism connection needed more study? Yeah there’s no cartel cause they told you so… Go back to sleep, drink your fluoride, eat your MSG, take your shots laced with fetal tissue and thiomersal, and when your body rots from the inside out have fun trying to guess what did it to you. TOOL!!!

Lazy cakes are very far removed from weed, even if they’re designed to capitalize on marijuana imagery. Melatonin is a naturally occurring chemical in the brain and isn’t even proven to directly cause sleepiness, but rather helps mediate the circadian rhythm; eating a brownie in daylight will probably not cause any noticeable effect unless the person sleeps on a nocturnal cycle because of work or whatever.

I bought one of these,got REAL sleepy tried to walk,and felt like I was going to puke.My head felt funny in an unpleasant way like a steel ball smashing back and forth when you’d move your head.
I crawled back to the couch passed out,had WEIRD unpleasant dreams,and eventually woke up the next morning feeling….unrested.
You could use these for date rape.They are always sold out where I live.I agree w/the label DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE when eating these.
They suck,and they will mess you up,and I wouldn’t say in a good way.
I am surprised they are legal.They sell them in a gas station here.
But why not? kids can get synthetic cocaine like Ritalin (methamphetamine) and all sorts of other drugs legally that copy the illegal ones. They just have to get the from the man in the white coat who pushes the pharma cartel pushers.
I guess they know how to dope the kids up just right so they learn to be a burden on society in the schools.I think they just don’t like that these are being sold in gas stations instead of pushed by teachers and drug companies.

@ Joe, hey im NOT from cambridge or whatever, i wouldn’t live in that northeast union leftist nightmare for any amount of money,
and if the southies had the highest atrrition in the US during that old vietnam thing, MAYBE THEY SHOULD HAVE DUCKED THE DOPES , come to think of it,
in my 5 years of active dutiy in the Marines, i cant recal a SINGLE person from the bawstun area

Maybe you should take a visit to one of the several Marine recruiting stations in Massachusetts then, instead of demonstrating your ignorance. My brother (from the “Bawstun” area) is an active duty Marine, and was one of MANY recent recruits. Young men and women are being recruited and signing up from this area on a constant basis- he is home on leave at the moment for that very reason.

The future generation can’t wait until ignorant bigots like you die off. People don’t need/want what goes into their bodies regulated by government, and the current generation in power uses morality as justification for making senseless, arbitrary ban-happy laws. Also, the modern version of weed is still weed. “Lazy cakes” have melatonin, which is a naturally-occurring substance. How stupid are you?

Seriously…I mean good lord…i thought all the BS being said about bath salts and spice was funny….But this story is seriously passed funny. This seriously tells me that I need to leave this country. EVERY SINGLE INGREDIENT can be bought at ANY shop that sells vitamins. And to ALL the people on here that think this should be banned. and ESPECIALLY to pazzammie or whatever you called yourself…..Im seriously struggling to find a word for yall….pathetic is the closest i can think of…. “You could use these for date rape.. “…. ARE YOU FREAKIN SERIOUS? MAYBE if you fed it to a that 2 year old! People like you just need to die or get the hell out of this country. Yall are the reason why our country is just a few more dumb a@@ laws away from being SOCIALISTIC. If thats what you want, LEAVE. I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK! Right on lolindeed and everyone else that has or uses more that 2% of their brains.

The future generations are wasted on kiddie pills like synthetic cocaine from the school shrinks.They will just be a burden on society and flushed down the toilet anyway trying to pay the national debt.
It looks like Sponge Bob She it Pants to me or Sponge Bob Sheet pants after a hygiene mishap not a poptart.

The real danger is the Valerian root, especially for children or pregnant women, but anyone can have a bad reaction. Just because some of these ingredients are over the counter supplements, does not mean they should be put in food products aimed at children and stupid adults. You cannot regulate how much you are ingesting as you can with a supplement, and kids will keep eating sweets like this to the point of toxic levels, and are much more easily overdosed on ingredients because of their size.
Valerian:
Large doses or chronic use may result in stomach ache, apathy, and a feeling of mental dullness or mild depression. Because of the herb’s tranquilizer properties, it may cause dizziness or drowsiness, effects that should be considered before driving or operating heavy or hazardous equipment.[24] In some individuals, valerian can cause stomach ache, anxiety, and night terrors .
In rare cases, valerian may cause an allergic reaction, typically as a skin rash, hives, or difficulty breathing.[24]

Because the compounds in valerian produce central nervous system depression, they should not be used with other depressants, such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or opiates.[26][27][28] Moreover, nonpregnant adult human hepatotoxicity has been associated with short-term use (i.e., a few days to several months) of herbal preparations containing valerian and Scutellaria (commonly called Skullcap).[29] Long-term use in a male has also been associated with benzodiazepine-like withdrawal symptoms, resulting in cardiac complications and delirium

Yet these same politicians have no problem with our kids getting drugged by Ritalin and other pharma, often at the recommendation of one’s teacher. They can whine and moan all they wish about “It’s a legal prescription” but these same blowhards and their upper-crust politicos in C0nGr3$$ have likely received contributions from these same big $$ pharma.

If this nation is TRULY SERIOUS about the drug War and returning our already-lost freedoms, eliminating political contributions from big pharma would be a nice start.

This is just another example of a government considering to implement a knee-jerk reaction to one or two cases of irresponsible parents or retailers. Big Brother’s gotta save everyone right? It crosses both major political parties. This “need” to regulate everything. This reminds me so much of a few years back when the federal government was considering requiring a choking hazard label on all hot dog packaging. Preposterous!

Um, who are you kidding, seriously, do you even watch or read the news? You know, multiple sites so you can get a well rounded viewpoint of the issues instead of one side of the debate that you get from watching only FOX or MSNBC. Please, both parties do it but LATELY its been the GOP doing the most harm with their legislation outlawing abortions and gay marriage, for example, among other things. So yes, open your eyes to the real world and admit that your own party makes mistakes too. Independents like myself cannot stand hypocritical nonsense.

Oh, and since Visine is marketed as a food with a cool cartoon character on the side… oh wait. I can already tell you’ll be at the front of the Class Action trough when people figure out that drugs in food packages might not be a great idea.

8 GRAMS per brownie? Can this be right? I take 10 MILLIgrams to get to sleep at night, and even that is high for most people. There are 200 tablets in my bottle. If I took the whole bottle that would still be only 1/4 of what would be in the brownie. I think that amount might kill even an elephant!

Excuse me — we’re not talking about you or any other adult “legal” dopers here. We’re talking about a toxproicduct which appears to be being promoted with a marketing strategy aimed at little children. It’s obvious this is not just another example of “nanny-state” over-reaction. Parents who are irrresponsible to feed these dangerously “legal treats” to small children are the same sort of bozos who might give their kids a shot of brandy or a few tokes off a jointm=, or a little “toot”, to “help them get to sleep”. And any idiot, like yourself, who would downplay the dangers of such a “snack” to children is equally deserving of the “bozo” designation.

i agree with you lamont… apparently Herculano Fectablahblah is used to having people do his/her thinking for them. its getting pretty sad in this country that all you have to say is “what about the children” and all of a sudden you have just lost the right to make decisions for yourself. Herculano is a brainwashed twit. If you don’t think its good for your children don’t buy them. Many parents give their children melatonin to help them sleep you ignorant schmuck (this is addressed to Herculano). Get a grip

Herculano Fecteau,
Not only is your post a clear indication that you simply cannot think for yourself, but the mere fact that you actually used words like “doper, bozo, and toot” make it achingly obvious that you’re just a conservative soccer mom who probably considers wine coolers to be a hard drug. Live a little, ok?
“Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.”
– Benjamin Franklin

Well, looking at the dosage and toxicity for Melatonin, I found this:http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10882&page=368 which references other studies that seem to indicate melatonin requires an extremely high dosage before you start seeing harmful effects, but that some people also show harmful side effects are far lower doses. Still, it looks like most people can take well over 1,000 mg (1 gram) a day with no noticeable side effects. It doesn’t do anything for you beyond around 0.5mg, but it doesn’t kill you either.

Basically, it looks like these brownies are probably completely safe for kids, except for the one who are outliers that show strong reactions to low doses, and in that case, the susceptibility won’t go away as the kid gets older.

Herculano Fecteau, from the available medical studies of melatonin on children no side effects have been observed. But what concerns me about your comment is that you think laws can protect children from irresponsible parents. If you actually thought through this belief to its logical conclusion, I think you’d realize how useless it is. In fact, you already admitted how useless it is with your brandy example. So how exactly is banning melatonin-laced brownies going to protect children?

While I beleive that this is a stupid product, it fits into American gratification-culture well. Energy drinks, cars that park themselves, iPhones, the politics of sexuality, “rights” to physical goods and services, Prozac for those who want to feel good about their delusions of living ethical lives, and booster-seat cars for the insecure.

Cartoons appeal to adults, and their use in advertising doesn’t allow one to conclude that something’s being marketed to kids. “Look, Mabel, those jerks are trying to lure children into buying Mr. Clean!” And what’s up with Honda’s Mr. Opportuinty? I guess Quilted Northern is using its red bears to seduce kids into buying toilet-paper.

I have a Lazy Cake once in awhile when I know I’ve got the next day off and really need to sleep in. The directions on the package says eat only have the brownie every four hours. I *blush* eat the whole thing then go to bed. But if you can’t read directions then don’t take it.

Had you read and comprehended the article you would have known that there are eight (8) MILLIgrams of melatonin in each brownie and the serving size is one half (1/2) of a brownie. Pay attention to what you read and you won’t look foolish when posting.

really? REALLY? these poeple should have enough common sense to be able to watch thier children and keep them from eating these. The issue becomes, that they don’t have the time or the initiative to take care fo their children properly, so they have to resort to a nanny state government coming in and forcing the company to stop making the product so they don’t have to take ANY responsibility.

8 grams?! Are you sure it’s not 8 mg? 3 to 5 mg is the typical amount in sleep aid supplements, and one-tenth of those amounts has been found to be enough to induce sleep. BTW, melatonin is also a natural hormone secreted from the pineal gland in the brain that regulates our sleep cycle and is also found naturally in some foods. It’s also great for resetting one’s sleep cycle while recovering from jet lag.

WHY IS IT that all you dummies from taxa chusests keep voting for these drunk irish democrat leftists?! YOU PEOPLE keep voting for them its YOUR OWN FAULT, by comparison WE IN THE FREE REPUBLIC OF ARIZONA DO NOT!! if we can do it SO CAN YOU!! .. FREE YOURSELVES

Sorry – can’t say
I’m worried about “oppressive government” in this case. More like another example of a greedy, irresponsible capitalist “entrepreneur” conspiring to keep you “lazy Larries” (and your kids, if, God forbid, your polluted genes are still capable of reproducing) lazy, ignorant, stupid, and sedated from cosmic and political reality. Get off the crack pipe and wake the hell up. Sometimes the government is your friend.

No I don’t think the government has a right to say what adults can put in their body. I own my body pure and simple. I’m sure you probably support a woman’s right to choose what she does with her body but someone I can’t eat chocolate covered melatonin ? Fine I will go to GNC and then stop by Kroger and buy chocolate and make my own. You use the same old scare tactic ” big bad corporation trying to harm the children” What a piece of work you are. So any Business is bad but government is your friend?

Uh, herc ~ no one forces anybody to buy anything (well, except for the Federal Government, but I digress….). Yours and others’ posts imply that people are incapable of thinking for themselves and making their own decisions,about what to buy or put in their bodies, independent of a meddlesome Federal Government or “greedy” corporations. You and all the other corporate America-hating kool-aid drinkers need to realize that corporations provide employment and are in business to make MONEY and it is up to people to decide for themselves whether or not to purchase their products.

This back-&-forth misses the point. There are control freaks in both government and business who want to run your lives. All they have to do is provide gratifications, whether convenience-gadgets, broad-coverage insurance for routine events, sense-filling experiences, or cars that park themselves (on one hand), or promises of hand-outs, “rights” to physical goods and services, or over-the-top “for-your-own-good” health-&-safety regulations. A dependent population doesn’t rock the boat. The Dems pursue a big mother government run by elitist “experts” that treat citizens like lab rats to be trained, and the corporate Republicans promote a caricature of personal responsibility and autonomy for the few that amounts to essentially the same loss of autonomy and responsibility for citizens as the Dems’ Big Mother government.

If you haven’t heard of Lazy Cakes… authorities wish it would stay that way”…. I haven’t heard of hem. Does this then qualify as irresponsible journalism? I’m not a big fan of WBZ as they have gone from news to gossip, and every time I wonder across their site, they do nothing to dispel that thought.

Food police, yet another violation of our rights. Add it to the list of gov’t violations of our right:
They violate the 1st Amendment by placing protesters in cages, banning books like “America Deceived II” and censoring the internet.
They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns.
They violate the 4th and 5th Amendment by molesting airline passengers.
They violate the entire Constitution by starting undeclared wars for foreign countries.
Impeach Obama and sweep out the Congress.
(Last link of Banned Book):http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000190526

They are misstating the information. Just did some checking and these contain a total of 3.9mg of melatonin, not 8 grams. Obviously these “officials” need to do some actual research and not jump to conclusions based on the first hit when they do a google search. One word…”idiots”.

New Bedford City Councilor Bruce Duarte, Jr. is a mentally deficient moron if this is what he thinks is important. Government is degenerate as the people that live by sucking your wealth through taxes with the threat of force.

So it took me all of one minute to go to the web site and find the nutritional information. Each brownie serving contains 4mg of melatonin, with two servings per package, for a total of 8mg per package. 1/1000th of the amount reported by CBS.

I have sent the following email to the news staff:
Regarding your article entitled, “Fall River, New Bedford Try To Ban ‘Lazy Cakes’” you have included inaccurate information which lists that Lazy Cakes contain 8 grams of Melatonin. Rather, they contain approximately 4mg of Melatonin. Please issue a correction for this error. Additionally, your article is conveniently laconic when it says only that Melatonin is a “sleep-aid.” You fail to mention that Melatonin is produced naturally by humans, is an life-extending anti-oxidant, has virtually no mammalian toxicity (c. 100-200mg/kg toxicity rates), and is quite distinct from narcotic sleep-aids. Finally, you do not mention that each of the ingredients in a Lazy Cake (Melatonin, Passion Flower, Valerian root, etc.) is readily available to anyone of any age at any grocery store or pharmacy. In the future, you should provide a more balanced approach and ensure your information is accurate. Articles such as this encourage unnecessary fearing mongering through misdirection, misinformation, and obfuscation.

Good thing I live in Missouri. As far as i know the thought of banning my company’s Bourbon Hemp Brownies hasn’t been given a shooting glance – Thank goodness! The BHB actually has alcohol AND hemp seeds in it – Sacre Coeur! Wonder what they’d do with that?!

I also looked for this supposed story about a toddler being hospitalized and could not find the originating story. Only references (using the SAME EXACT wording) on multiple radio station sites stating that there is “at least one REPORT of a toddler being hospitalized”. No official story. No official reports from hospital, parents, or the company.

Typical liberalism, create an issue (that may or may not even exist), lie about the product, and then use both to boot their boots on the throat of American business (CITIZENS you dolts!) people.

How dare you drones think you can relax by eating a “lazy cake”? Your government-globalist taskmasters need our workers on edge, non-stop, 24/7. Now get back to work! Uncle Sam and the U.N. need their blood money!

It would seem the more important point to the piece is that the packaging graphics certainly seem more appealing to youth than to adults. Many other items listed in other posts aren’t particularly appealing (in their packaging) to kids. Additionally, medications listed in other posts are in child proof bottles (at least for young children). On another note, re. parents not monitoring their children closely enough. There are plenty of kids who walk to/from school w/o their parents, right past convenience stores. That’s easy enough to buy this product and consume it before getting home.

“If you haven’t heard of Lazy Cakes, authorities in Fall River and New Bedford wish it would stay that way.” Right. The way to keep something secret is to make a federal case over it? Now the whole world knows about something they probably would never have heard of. Dumb and dumber in Massachusetts.

Have we reached the state in the land of the formerly free that the government will, in the name of “child protection”, declare that I will not be allowed to eat, drink, or read that which is fit for adults?

I certainly believe they should ban this product because it will cut into the market for Ridilin, one of the most popular and widely used products to turn children into zombies when they have the audacity to act like kids.

Well lets start with might be really harmful to children! Ban Cigarettes or all tobacco products from our town!!
Or how about cell phones because people might text and drive and run over a kid, and don;t forget alcohol of any kind, more Liberal BS, thinking that you the people are too stupid to do what is good for you…

The fact is, we do not own our body it is the property of the United States government. We are too stupid to know what is good for us. We should be thankful for the wisdom of our public servants, excuse me, Authorities/Officials. Why can’t you people understand that we can’t think for ourselves and that we need the government to think for us. The government loves us and only wants the best for its sheeple, I mean people.

Flanagan needs to find a new job, and allow the FDA to do their job. Talk about public grandstanding. Americans are more concerned about bigger issues, let alone issues that pertain to Flanagan, last I looked he should had called the FDA rather than wasting tax payer dollars and time, when so many other issues could be addressed. Flanagan, you fail!!!

Obviously, as 95% of posters agree, this is just another case of the government trying to regulate…well, everything. This is getting so old. We don’t need help living our lives. Leave us alone.
And those who are blasting Democrats as though they carry the torch of government intervention…what about Republican’s overzealous Drug War? If you’re so up in arms over the government attempting to regulate melatonin brownies, you’d think you wouldn’t be FOR the criminalization of marijuana, unless you’re a hypocrite and don’t realize it.
Marijuana, alcohol, melatonin brownies, etc etc…whatever the case may be…the moral of the story is…government nanny intervention doesn’t work AND is flat out unethical…the antithesis of freedom. If you’re so concerned for people’s safety, here’s what you do….EDUCATE. That is the ONLY way to keep people safe. Provide enough information so that people can make educated choices. If they still choose not to, tough for them. That’s life. The rest of us shouldn’t have to give up our freedoms because a few idiots can’t handle life. I enjoy marijuana…and I loathe alcohol. Marijuana has done nothing but good things in my life…enhancing creative pursuits, it makes me MORE motivated, and it’s helped create strong empathetic ties to my family and friends. It’s a wonderful God-given substance. Alcohol, on the other hand, while legal, is a true toxin. But, if I were to take the government’s advice, I should put down my joint and pick up a shot glass, right? No thanks. Sorry, but I’m much too intelligent to buy into government propaganda. Are you?

Has anyone ever tried these? Well, I have. I also have a two year old. Practice a bit of “parenting” and your child will never even see a Lazy Cake. They don’t get you “high” at all anyway. They literally put you to sleep. I guess it could possibly be dangerous for small children but so are a lot of other things that parents should control. Come save me big brother. Do it for the childrens.

I believe there is no legal case for banning these but I do see a legitimate case for regulating their placement to somewhere controlled such as with the cigarettes. Parents should be the ones to choose what to give their own children, but it is important to let parents know when a food is a risk to their children. Most of the parents I know don’t know that “Melatonin” is a sleeping pill ingrediant. If they read the label at all they would probably think it was just a harmless pseudo-vitamin like “Flavanoids” listed on some chocolates.

Parents manage to mistakenly overdose their children with iron more times each year than any other type of poisoning so now we have the warning labels for the twelfth straight year with little change in result and that is just a vitamin. If parents and grand parents can’t get something like that right why would you think they will notice that these “sleeping pill” laced brownies are dangerous to their kids when there is no warning of any kind on the package?

Sleeping pills are addictive to adults what do you think might happen with the children who get these? That is apart from the fact that the adult dose could be quickly passed by a hungrey child wantng a snack and eating too many of these things. Parents might not even know their child has taken this until after it is too late. What? you’ve never had a child steal a snack/cookie/BROWNIE?

Take a look at the “sleep aid” called “Purple Drank” — wild packaging, similar ingredients — and called purple drank after the toxic concoction for which rappers are famous (several have died/many have romanticized). As a middle school teacher, I watched how intrigued the kids initially were. Wouldn’t have been the same if it were called “Now I lay me.”

Employers beware!! Not only is there a serious problem with having children eat these things, but many adults will be taking them to work for snacks or lunch. That should be great for productivity. They should be repackaged as sleeping brownies.

So human beings are only worth the work you an squeeze out of them? People aren’t robots. What the hell is so wrong with relaxing? And if someone takes this at work, then that’s their problem. Who in their right mind would take melatonin before starting the workday? It’s not something worth LEGISLATING about…

Melatonin is an endocrine hormone. We should not be putting human hormones of any kind in food. Supplements, yes, but not food where it could be overdosed easily by anyone, not just kids. And did you mean 8 MILLIGRAMS? Because 8 GRAMS is about 4000 X too much.

PS Those brownies must taste like AZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Valerian smells like dirty underwear, for real.

It’s not relaxing as the article says. I’ve taken lots of melatonin. It just makes you drowsy. It’s the chemical your body releases at night to put you to sleep. Do you feel like your stress is relieved when you’re really tired late at night? If not, this will not relieve your stress.

Before getting upset, we would have to prove that these things are actually effective. I highly doubt they put anyone to sleep or even make them drowsy…word of mouth would spread far and fast if that were the case. A double blind test would prove efficacy but you will never see that because the makers know they are selling a brownie with a snake-oil promise.

This is ridiculous. Melatonin is a naturally produced sleep hormone. It’s relatively weak and large doses are no more effective than small doses. I’ve taken lots of the stuff. It’s not a recreational drug. It doesn’t make you relaxed, it makes you sleepy. Banning this would be ridiculous.

Melatonin is not a “dietary supplement,” since dietary consumption is zero (to negligible, depending upon whether or not you chance to eat a pineal gland with your brain sandwich!). However, melatonin definitely is a hormone. Unfortunately, little is known about the effects of melatonin in humans. In other animals, it strongly inhibits the production of the sex hormones testosterone and estradiol (the active form of estrogen). It may reduce the production of somatostatin, thereby increasing the production of somatotropin (“growth hormone”). The amounts described in this article are improbably large (8 grams is 4000-8000 times the usual adult dose of 1-2 mg). Even at 8 mg, the risk of disrupting other endocrine function with regular use is worrisome, especially in the case of children during puberty. For children disclaimers on a familiar and apparently innocuous treat “food,” such as “for occasional use, only as directed,” are not sufficient–especially when the marketing explicitly caters to those seeking an altered state of consciousness.

It’s really great to see that online “reporting” is just as inaccurate as traditional broadcast and newspaper reporting.

One look at the Lazy Cakes site – linked in the article! – will show you that the total of Melatonin in each brownie is 8MG, NOT 8 Grams! Each package contains “two servings”, meaning that, if you only eat the recommended serving amount, you’ll get 4MG of Melatonin. If you eat the whole thing you’ll get 8MG. Hardly something to get all up-in-arms about and legislate against.

Absolutely. Large blocs on both side of the political spectrum want to regulate and control your bodies as if they belonged to the State. The prevailing presumption among lawmakers and those in power is that the sovereignty of the State trumps your individual sovereignty (and yes, that is the precise opposite of the principles and ideals upon which this country was founded, thanks for asking). Their stated motivations differ but in the end it’s always “for your own good”. Frankly, it’s not their job to determine what is or is not in my own good: my sovereignty trumps all – they govern solely at the consent of the governed.

Thanks to the exposure this story has now gathered I expect this product to spread across the nation – by mail-order if not traditional distribution to brick and mortar outlets. I’m looking forward to trying one as an alternative to traditional melatonin pills the next time I fly cross-country.

Ummm…up to 6mg is commonly suggested by doctors. The stuff is hardly dangerous. The only side effect to be honest is ‘sedation’ which they advertise quite effectively if you ask me…but hey what does an PhD in biochem know…long story short: STOP FUDGING FACTS TO MATCH YOUR AGENDAS!

I only hope these same nut jobs don’t read the labels on vanilla extract bottles. Avg. 32% alc/vol and this is mixed into icings that aren’t cooked so the alcohol is not boiled off. Sounds like the trumpet section is tuning up.

Obviously, as 95% of posters agree, this is just another case of the government trying to regulate…well, everything. This is getting so old. We don’t need help living our lives. Leave us alone.
And those who are blasting Democrats as though they carry the torch of government intervention…what about Republican’s overzealous Drug War? If you’re so up in arms over the government attempting to regulate melatonin brownies, you’d think you wouldn’t be FOR the criminalization of marijuana, unless you’re a hypocrite and don’t realize it.
Marijuana, alcohol, melatonin brownies, etc etc…whatever the case may be…the moral of the story is…government nanny intervention doesn’t work AND is flat out unethical…the antithesis of freedom. If you’re so concerned for people’s safety, here’s what you do….EDUCATE. That is the ONLY way to keep people safe. Provide enough information so that people can make educated choices. If they still choose not to, tough for them. That’s life. The rest of us shouldn’t have to give up our freedoms because a few idiots can’t handle life. I enjoy marijuana…and I loathe alcohol. Marijuana has done nothing but good things in my life…enhancing creative pursuits, it makes me MORE motivated, and it’s helped create strong empathetic ties to my family and friends. It’s a wonderful God-given substance. Alcohol, on the other hand, while legal, is a true toxin. But, if I were to take the government’s advice, I should put down my joint and pick up a shot glass, right? No thanks. Sorry, but I’m much too intelligent to buy into government propaganda. Are you?

Sure, these are a niche product but there is absolutely no reason to have them banned. I’ve never heard of these things myself, but the fact of the matter remains that NO ONE WANTS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEMSELVES ANYMORE. I’m sick of the direction that our nation is headed in with nonsense irrational stories like this popping up frequently day in and day out. Conservatives cannot stop their absurd social agenda that the American public overwhelmingly does not want! For a party that screams to high heaven that the “democrats want big government controlling your life,” the only party that has come up with numerous forms of legislation restricting one’s Constitutionally protected freeoms has been the GOP!! That is an inarguable FACT; after November the GOP has done nothing about jobs and instead focused all of their energy on forcing their comical social agenda down the throats of Americans that flat out know better and are capable of making decisions regarding their own personal lives.

Fact is that PARENTS SHOULD NOT BUY THESE FOR THEIR KIDS. Kids should not be buying these on their own, and if they are indeed going behind their parents backs and buying them on their own then there’s nothing wrong with that as they then are clearly old enough to consciously make purchases with their own money. The fact that there is melatonin in this is not a big deal at all…I don’t know where the above doctor gets his stats because the average melatonin dose is 1mg and that is pretty much universally accepted. If you buy it as a supplement, it typically comes in 1mg tablets, not .03, wherever the hell she got that from. So stupid…people better step up and make these choices for themselves and take responsibility for their own damn children or else the government will absolutely one day be making all these calls for us. Independents like myself, however, pray daily that the GOP keeps putting their foot in their mouth because their social agenda is so unConstitutionally restrictive its scary.

Not to worry. As soon as the Spongebob Squarepants people see this article the brownie folks will be sued out of exsistance for copyright infringement, unless Spongebob is making the brownies. Any real news going on out there?

We’ve come a long way from good old fashioned Somonex, now we’ve got slumber sweets to deal with. This wouldn’t be a sublineal way to warn parents about this weekends Earth Concert at the Hatch Shell ( wink..wink)

Wow, if anyone is trying to ban this they are extremely ignorant.
1) I had one today. I have a sleeping disorder and I tried it out and I slept like a baby. I didn’t trip, I didn’t feel funny. I just slept.
2) There shouldn’t be any sort of law saying what you can and cannot put into your body as long as it doesn’t harm others. I can’t say doesn’t harm yourself because people eat fast food more than they should. If anything, they should ban the fast food.

Those losers down in Noo Befford and Fowl River are so brain dead, what difference does it make if they eat those things! After all this is the home of the cheapest Heroin in New England and the A G is worried about brownies!

Turkey should be removed from the shelves also. It contains tryptophan. Obviously marketed to kids also. Even schools get in on the promoting of thanksgiving, and give the kids the day off so they can partake of this drug laced bird. For shame!

What these folks don’t understand is that Melatonin doesn’t work if you take too much.It won;t get someone high to take a larger dose.it just doesn;t o anything.The valerian and passion flower will be what causes relaxartion. A more on the ball reporter would have done a bit more research

The recommended dose of melatonin starts at 3 mg (100 times what he said) and goes up to 500 mg depending on the indication.

It is not uncommon for people to need 30-50 mg to go to sleep.

Doctors who say stupid things to disparage nutritional supplements should face automatic, mandatory and inescapable loss of their medical license. There are more than enough dangers of prescription drugs they should be warning us about – instead of killing over 100,000 people a year with them – when deaths from nutritional supplements are unheard of.

I’m usually the last guy who would kdefend over-active parents or politicians who like to pull products from shelves. If drinks and cakes like the one this article describes were labled properly (which they are not…they don’t say how much melatonin is in bottle), then they could be a good nighttime drink before sleep. If the amount of melatonin listed in the article above is correct however, then this is a dangerous food for anyone except those with hardcore melatonin tolerance. Melatonin is a brain hormone. It’s great for sleeping and dreaming, but it’s not a good idea to set your brain into that mode during the day… unless you’re trying to sleep.

If the amount of melatonin in the food is greater than 3mg (at most!) then the makers of the food are being very irresponsible. Literally poisoning minds.

WAKE UP! This looks like yet another case of stupid politicians trying to control our lives. The label on this item is clearly NOT marketed to children. If they are that concerned about it, then it should be sold only to adults behind the counter. The very thought of taking it off the market is preposterous unless it clearly has harmed someone. BUT, maybe it could benefit some of these AD&D children by calming them down instead of having to take all of that speed. lol!

The whole problem here is in the advertising. The makers of this product should go to jail for false advertising with children as the intended target. Their lies are obvious and there must be consequences to such obscene things.

Disguising drugs as candy is bad, hm’kay?!
The FDA isn’t protecting Americans from all this stuff, like they should.
Iit’s time to disband the FDA, since they aren’t up to the task of doing their jobs!
Look at all the “legal” diet aids which are bad for the body, but used to bolster the belief that only “perfect” women are pretty/
…and what about the garbage drugs being produced by Lilly, Abbot et al which do more harm than good (ALL approved by the FDA??!!)
We could save a lot of money. but since the money is already spent.
DON’T YOU THINK THE FDA SHOULD DO A BETTER JOB??

Steve, I have read many comments here, from thought provoking to funny to just asinine, but yours is the truest comment I have seen. Thank you for being strong enough to state the truth that not many want to hear.

The real problem is that there are people out there that will do anything for a buck and others that will do anything to gain control over others. What has happened to our freedom to choose and the responsibility that goes with it? Commies on the left and fascists on the right. Constantly coming up with new laws and restrictions on our liberty while at the same time using their positions of power to maim and kill innocents around the globe. Don’t eat the Brownies, but vaccinate your kids with mercury and and just hope it doesn’t damage your child’s brain. If Merck or Pfizer was marketing this Brownie, you wouldn’t hear a word from anybody about the negative aspects. Everything is a racket and the moment you put your guard down either the government or some corporation will take advantage of you. Right and wrong doesn’t enter into the question. Only how much money can we make.

Once again, the government is saying that parents are too stupid, and clearly the government needs to help them raise their kids. I’m surprised that they haven’t used the term “useful Idiot”, and re-education camps. Then again, isn’t this what the Public Schools are?

The real danger is the Valerian root, especially for children or pregnant women, but anyone can have a bad reaction. Just because some of these ingredients are over the counter supplements, does not mean they should be put in food products aimed at children and stupid adults. You cannot regulate how much you are injesting as you can with a supplement, and kids will keep eating sweets like this to the point of toxic levels.
Valerian:
Few adverse events attributable to valerian have been reported.[14] Large doses or chronic use may result in stomach ache, apathy, and a feeling of mental dullness or mild depression. Because of the herb’s tranquilizer properties, it may cause dizziness or drowsiness, effects that should be considered before driving or operating heavy or hazardous equipment.[24] In some individuals, valerian can cause stomach ache, anxiety, and night terrors .
In rare cases, valerian may cause an allergic reaction, typically as a skin rash, hives, or difficulty breathing.[24]

Because the compounds in valerian produce central nervous system depression, they should not be used with other depressants, such as alcohol, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, or opiates.[26][27][28] Moreover, nonpregnant adult human hepatotoxicity has been associated with short-term use (i.e., a few days to several months) of herbal preparations containing valerian and Scutellaria (commonly called Skullcap).[29] Long-term use in a male has also been associated with benzodiazepine-like withdrawal symptoms, resulting in cardiac complications and delirium

People should let free market decide or the sheeple can just let the government decide for them. HaHaHa… On this message board and around the country we are starting to see the 2 sets of people. Sheeple they go get vaccinated and let the government tell them what to do and the “people” .stand up for there rights and tell government what to do…

Oh my God we should give these officials the medal of honor for doing such a great job protecting us. What did we do in the last million years of human evolution without them? Perhaps like a whole host of other things, like Jack Daniels, Cigarettes, boxes of lard, and antifreeze ought to be kept away from kids and parents trusted to have enough sense not to feed them to kids. Radical thought! I know.

More nanny state BS.
First of all the package reads for adults only.
Secondly I use Melatonin for a sleep aid and I’ve talked to a pharmacist about it who informed me that it is not only non addicting, it is something our bodies produce naturally and it is harmless.
I would be more concerned about the indoctrination into socialism that the liberals are subjecting our children to in school.
It’s far more dangerous.

hum lets see caffeine is a abused by kids everyday but that’s still available to children every where and oh yeah lets talk about cigarettes how many people die from that alone every hour yet they are not banned it seems to me that the almighty officials only want to ban what they dont get kick backs from cause we all know big tobacco fills every hacks pocket with money . . we really should ban outa touch power tripping millionaires from office is what should happen cause personally im tired of them doing nothing but taking taking taking.

Melatonin: SIDE EFFECTS: Headache, dizziness, shaking, nausea, or abdominal cramps may occur.
A very serious allergic reaction to this product is rare. However, seek immediate medical attention if you notice any of the following symptoms of a serious allergic reaction: rash, itching/swelling (especially of the face/tongue/throat), severe dizziness, trouble breathing.This is not a complete list of possible side effects.

What about the 28 vaccines babies have to get? They don’t say anything about that with autism going up 6000 percent.Well the one facet of society that hasn’t had a 6000 percent increase in Autism is the Amish because they don’t pump their kids with pharma cartel vaccines….but yeah! Brownies ooooo scary.

May 15, 2011 at 3:15 am

MD

Pazzamie
Do your research. Immmunizations are not related to autism – MANY studies have shown this. The guy who released the one study that showed a correlation lost his medical license. Get your facts straight.

May 15, 2011 at 12:43 pm

Enough Research has been done and to me, it in fact proves immunizations are a factor in autism. I will not ever support immunizations and will continue to encourage and teach all of my children to abstain from them fro their children as well. The medical community is lying to protect the money they make from the drug companies. Facts and staticstics are clear and speak for themselves and it disgusts me to see anyone, especially someone calling themselves an “MD’ being so high and mighty and rude and not admitting the obvious yet putting someone down for their stand against immunizations.

I’d bet that a lot of these brownies are resold with considerable markup as “pot brownies” to unsuspecting buyers, not unlike those fake buds sold in the back of High Times. What I really wonder about is how they could possibly taste like anything except a$$ (as anyone familiar with the taste/smell of valerian can attest). Frankly, it’d be safer for children to get hold of actual cannabis brownies rather than these, well except for any damage suffered as a result of the ignorant reactionary hysteria of concerned pinheads err, I mean parents.

George Carlin said it best when it comes to protecting the children: “Something else I’m getting tired of in this country is all this stupid talk
I have to listen to about children. That’s all you hear about anymore,
children: “Help the children, save the children, protect the children.” You
know what I say? F### the children!”

I agree these should not be marketed to kids! They need to be out of reach of children and only sold to those over 18. I dont want my kids thinking its okay or “fun” to eat anything added into a brownie. But there is nothing wrong with melatonin its a natural sleep aid that is sold in the us in 3,5,and 10 mg pills. My sons Ped recommended it for him because he has ADHD and trouble sleeping. I was told to give him up to 10 mg and some times that does nothing! I don’t think 0.8 Mg’s is going to do anything to anyone.